


Chaos & Change

by QueenHeadphones



Category: Neko no Ongaeshi | The Cat Returns
Genre: Gen, TCR Secret Santa 2018, some action sequences but nothing violent, some folks feeling sad but nothing crazy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-06-14
Packaged: 2020-05-07 09:42:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19206820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenHeadphones/pseuds/QueenHeadphones
Summary: It's Haru's first day working alongside The Cat Bureau, serving a very important role that has them depending on her. Although she's taken every precaution to prepare as much as she can, she'll find that some things can't be planned for.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rowena_Bensel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rowena_Bensel/gifts).



As the cold November breeze brushed through Haru’s hair, she shivered through her coat and sneezed. “How much farther till we get there?” she whimpered as she cast a wary glance at the buildings lining the road. The new shopping district looked so cheery earlier in the daylight, but in the shade of night, the brightly colored buildings and carefully maintained gardens looked...off.

Baron looked around the block, checking the road signs. “Not much further,” he replied nonchalantly. “I would say fifteen minutes, give or take.”

She scoffed. “Easy for you to say. You have fur.”

Toto landed on Haru’s shoulder and looked at her inquisitively. “You’re not getting sick, are you?” While no one could take points away from The Cat Bureau for lacking manners, and Haru always found the Bureau to be warm and receptive to her, she appreciated how the crow would look out for her, although illness was currently the least of her problems.

She shook her head and shifted the big satchel on her side to make room for him. “I don’t think so. I always _have_ been more of a spring person, I guess. Besides, this November has been colder than in the past. Maybe it’s connected to our client?”

“I don’t think so,” he replied. “They’ve been pretty uniform in their attacks. Moody atmosphere, light bulbs blowing up, technology wearing down, accidents-“

With a squawk, Haru was sent sprawling to the ground. She scanned the area where she tripped for the culprit and let out a frustrated sigh. “And vines,” she groaned. “Plenty of vines.”

Many people were able to chalk up technology breaking or the generally moody atmosphere that had fallen over Haru’s town to faulty wiring or the change in weather, but no one could explain the plants that had seemingly sprung up overnight. Everyone from botanists to metaphysical experts were called upon to get rid of them, but whether they were cut down, watered with corrosive chemicals, or even burned, they came back the next day, somehow even stronger.

Muta ambled over to Haru’s side. “Wow chicky, that was _impressive.”_

Toto bristled. “Muta!”

Haru checked her knees for surface damage. “It’s fine,” she said. “It’s the third time I’ve tripped over these stupid things this week, so someone should be keeping score.”

At the edge of her vision, a small handkerchief appeared. Haru looked up to find Baron offering it to her. The finely dressed cat was always polite, put together, and practically perfect in every way. It didn’t surprise Haru that he was a Creation. It surprised her even less that he ran an organization based entirely on helping people, no matter what their problem was.

“Are you all right?” His question jarred Haru out of her thoughts.

She smiled and accepted the handkerchief. “More than fine, thanks.” She rose to her feet and dusted off her outfit. “So why do we think that everything that’s been happening is connected with the client? Couldn’t it be some other reason for all this to be going on? Like some kind of vine monster or plant vigilante?”

“When they first reached out to us, they used magic to send a letter asking for our assistance.” Baron explained. “We were able to compare that magic to the magic around town, and found substantial similarities between the two.  Not only that, we were even able to confirm what artefact made all this happen.”

Haru didn’t doubt it. While she was still a new member to The Cat Bureau, she had already witnessed the equipment that The Cat Bureau used to perform their investigations in action. While she didn’t completely understand it all (who even used scrying bowls anyways?!) she was mightily impressed by how accurate it was. And yet… “And you’re sure we know who did it?” Haru asked. “What if someone took hold of the artefact and did all this-“ She gestured to the root. “-to frame the client?”

Muta chucked. “Oh we know. We just got to lure them out.”

“I know, it’s just...” Haru’s face fell as she toyed with the belt buckle on her satchel, not meeting anyone’s face with an upward glance. “I’m just surprised that the client was the one who pulled it off in the first place.”

“This wouldn’t be the first time that a client intentionally instigated a situation for whatever reason,” Toto started cautiously. “Besides, we _did_ find the artefact’s magic signature on the letter that she sent us. There really isn’t any other explanation for that, or at least one we could come up with.”

“I know,” Haru said. “But this just feels different-“

“Because she’s a fairytale character?” Muta scoffed. “It’s not the first time one of those have given us trouble, either, so you can let go of the notion that you can’t fight fire with fire for these types.” He stopped mid-walk to face her. “I know that this is your first case with us, but stick with this job long enough and you’ll find out that princesses are more trouble than they’re worth.”

“It’s not that,” Haru said defensively. “I mean, I’d just like to know why she did this. She doesn’t have a previous record, she’s never given us or any of the former Bureaus trouble, and she hasn’t even strayed from her story’s text once. I can’t help but feel like something made her think this was a good idea.”

“And that’s why we went with your plan, Miss Haru.” Baron had remained quiet through the exchange, content with just watching the three of them volley questions and answers back and forth. “With us showing the extent of the damage throughout the story to the client, along with Miss Haru talking her down while we’re in the background, we do get to approach her with the intent of understanding what drove her to do such, while possessing the security of our backup plan in the wings as well.”

At this, Haru felt a lurching sensation in her stomach. While she appreciated Muta’s preference for simplistic answers - sometimes, a door, glass window, or stubborn individual did need to be thrown around - now more than ever, things had to go smoothly. Giving a quick glance to the satchel hanging off her shoulders only intensified her nerves, sending them roiling throughout her. She let out a shaky laugh. “Right. That part of the plan.”

Alighting on Haru’s shoulder again, Toto turned to look at her. “You know, we all agreed that it was an excellent plan. We wouldn’t have gone ahead with it if we felt that something was off.” That made Haru feel a little better - she could trust Toto’s judgement.

Muta took some time to stretch. “Worst case scenario, if things go south on you, we’ll be right behind you, ready to knock heads in.”

Haru stared at him blankly. “You are just _itching_ for a fight, aren’t you?”

“Can’t help it, I do that when I’m nervous.” That made Haru feel a little less better. Muta could be tired, hungry, peeved, and annoyed, but never worried - unless something warranted it.

“I believe that it would be a little too soon for fights,” Baron said. “Especially considering that we’ve arrived.”

The building was unfamiliar to Haru, as the rest of the block was before. She squinted at the building’s frame, searching for any discerning signs. “Well...this is new.”

“Do you recall,” Baron asked her, “News of a new bookstore coming to town?”

“Do you mean the old vintage book shop that moved a few blocks down?” As soon as she said it, the building's details began to take shape in front of her. Sure, it lacked the roof tiles and molding of the old location, but the bookstore’s new home still held its considerable charm. “That makes sense, considering who our client is.”

“If you may,” he asked Haru politely. Haru flushed. “Oh, right.” Bending down, she kneeled forward and held her hands flat. Baron stepped up on her palms and waited as Haru began to stand up. She stepped forward, leveling her hands so that Baron would be able to reach the lock. If it weren’t for her nerves, Haru would find the level of gravitas that Baron had for the process almost funny.

From his pocket, he retrieved a ring of keys, organized by order, each one giving away their age through their designs, and so full it could barely even move. Haru watched as he carefully flipped through them. “Baron, how did you get the key to this place?”

“I know the owner,” Baron replied. “Our work intersects on occasion, so he granted The Cat Bureau access to a copy of their key,” He selected a slim, modern looking key and inserted it into the lock. “Couldn’t have you mistake me for a cat burglar.”

With a satisfying _click,_ the door popped open, welcoming them in. Haru trod inside with careful footsteps, surveying the scene. From her shoulder, Baron turned to look at her. “Why so cautious?”

“Sorry, I just...I don’t know what to expect.”

“Books, hopefully.”

Haru smiled wryly. “Ha ha. I just...I want to be sure that what we’re doing is the right thing to do.

“You’re right in that regard. We _did_ have plenty of suggestions.” He waved his cane at a panel on the wall. The lights in the room flickered on, revealing shelves full of books. “And while it’s true that Toto and Muta’s, and even my own, plans leaned towards a more decisive approach,” he continued. “Your idea appealed to the very way that The Cat Bureau functions. Not only does it help us retrieve the artefact, it also works to resolve the target’s issue. At the end of the day, everyone wins.” He glanced at her. “It’s not often that happens in life.”

Haru couldn’t meet his eye. “Yeah, but what if it isn’t one of those times? What if it _is_ us or them?”

“I’ve always believed that if you approach a question with everyone’s end goal in mind, then success is never far. However, if it helps, our target is far too inexperienced with magic to be much of an issue for us. The vine that you tripped over is a clear indicator of that.”

Haru let out a laugh. “Maybe they’ll trip over the vines, too.” Looking around the room, her eyes brightened at an artfully decorated display case. Dashing forward, she crouched down to allow Baron a better look. “My coworkers at my last internship really admire the woman who ran this shop. She used to be an editor for a high profile publisher, you know.” She grabbed a book and began thinning through it excitedly. “Her whole approach to her industry was _revolutionary.”_

“And what was that?”

Haru continued to duly flip through the book, skimming through passages. “That everyone should have the chance to tell their story. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that.”

Patterned footfalls and the beating of wings behind them announced Muta and Toto’s presence in the room. Haru turned to find Muta walking in, and Toto perching on a book display. “Patterned footfalls and the beating of wings behind them announced Muta and Toto’s presence in the room. Haru turned to find Muta walking in, and Toto perching on a book display. “Enjoying yourself, Haru?” Toto asked, eyeing the stacks of books surrounding her.

She couldn’t help but smile. “You bet. I recognized a lot of these copies from my internship earlier this year.”

Before Toto could ask more, Muta stood up impatiently and walked past the bird, surveying the aisles between the shelves. “Enough with the sightseeing, we have work to do, and I want to get it done before morning comes.”

“He’s right.” Nevertheless, she slipped the book back into its original spot and got up. “I’ll have to bring you all back here when we’re not working. There’s so much I want to show you guys.” She looked at Baron again. “Where did the client say they were again?”

* * *

 

 The client had left nothing to imagination when they had written their instructions to the bureau on finding them. Indeed, the four members of The Cat Bureau had found themselves standing in front of the location as quickly as they began to search for it.

“This has to be it,” Haru announced as she took some time to stretch her arms. “I don’t think that there’s any other spot in here that has _this_ many stuffed animals.” 

“They’re certainly not in the tax law section,” Baron agreed as he watched Toto fly between the shelves. Toto himself was pulling books off to check their covers and showing them to Baron in hopes of finding the right one.

“I’m not sure that the tax law section has so many brightly colored posters, either,” Toto interjected. “Are you sure it’s not in the folklore section? It _is_ an old story.”

Baron nodded in the affirmative. “This one seemed far more narrative than anecdotal.”

“Everyone says that there’s a difference,” Muta called out from below them. “But they don’t make you it any easier to tell what it is.” Haru looked below her and watched as the cat padded out, a book underneath his arm. Even from her distance, Haru could see the gold spidery font reading _CINDERELLA_ across the black bound book’s cover.

As Baron took it from Muta, he smiled. “I think it has to do with how many footnotes the book has.” He dusted off the cover. “But yes, they definitely don’t make it easy for you to tell, do they?”

Toto hopped up on a chair back and turned to Haru. “Do you have the backup copy ready?”

She nodded solemnly and shifted the bag that was on her shoulder. “But wasn't she going to meet us here?”

“Guess that part of the plan changed,” Muta muttered. “Doesn’t mean we still can’t go into the book.”

“Right, but wouldn’t that mean that we would lose the client?” Haru asked.

“What, they can’t find their own book?”

“It’s not that, it’s just that we said-“

“Excuse me,” said a gentle voice behind them. “But would you happen to be The Cat Bureau?”


	2. Chapter 2

“Excuse me,” said a gentle voice behind them. “But would you happen to be The Cat Bureau?”

The four turned to look in the direction that the voice came from, to be greeted by the sight of a young woman. Her tattered, stained clothes hung around her body, and dirt was smudged across her face, but it only served to accentuate her soft features, her bright eyes, her warm smile that shone through it all.

For a moment, these were all darkened with worry, and she took a quick step back. “I apologize, it’s been so long since I’ve last worked with a Bureau.” She politely took a step back and gave a half-bow. “I can leave if you need me to-“

“No need to at all,” Baron said smoothly. He stepped forward and removed his hat. “Delighted to see you again, Miss Cinderella.” Cinderella herself offered a polite curtsy in return.

“Likewise, Baron.” Her smile began to falter, and she looked down at the ground. “I just wish it were in better times.”

“Not to worry, we’ll have the situation fixed in no time. In fact, we think that we’ve located your artefact shortly before arriving.” He motioned to Toto, who quickly snapped to attention. “All Toto and Muta’s work, really.”

At this, Toto beamed, visibly proud of himself. “It was simple, really,” he said. “The artefact has a magic signature that’s near _impossible_ to miss. On top of that, you just need to identify the artifacts within the narrative and find what’s missing.”

“That’s still very impressive,” Cinderella said. “Not at all an easy feat.” She turned to Muta. “And you’re the traveler that Baron mentioned to me earlier.”

“Yeah, that’s me.” Muta said plaintively. “I just go from place to place and see things. I’ve probably come across your artefact once or twice, and I’d probably recognize it if I saw it.”

Cinderella nodded and gave him a pleasant smile. “You both were the first to reach out to me regarding where you last found the artefact’s signature and the recent activity in town. I’m very grateful for that.” She turned to Haru. “And I apologize, but I don’t believe we’ve been introduced to each other just yet.”

Baron smiled that enigmatic smile of his. “Oh, Miss Haru serves a _very_ special role on our team tonight.”

Haru couldn’t help but flush red as she gave the princess a polite bow. “I’m Haru Yoshioka, and tonight, I’m serving as the Editor for the team.” she said. “Or at least I’m an editor in training, I’m studying to be one in college and I just finished-“

At this, Cinderella’s eyes widened, her face being that of cool surprise. “Really now? It’s not an easy task to become one.” For a moment, the corners of her mouth seemed to curl up higher than her poised smile, revealing more than passive interest at the mention of Haru’s status.

Haru dismissed the thought as soon as it entered her mind - from experience, she knew that it was nearly impossible for characters to break out of their assigned role. “It just took some time in college and an internship, but not much else. Besides, editing a book and editing for Creations are pretty similar.”

Cinderella laughed politely. “That may be so,” she continued. “But editing for a Creation can be a different thing entirely.” She stepped forward, bridging the gap between the two women. “You’re not simply moving paragraphs or repairing comma splices, you’re changing the very way we speak, act, even live. It’s an immense, even controversial, position of power that’s not accessible to all.”

Haru couldn’t help but blush at the attention. “It’s just one skill that helps me help out, just like the rest of us at the Bureau. If anything, I think that the person with the most power is you.”

Taken by surprise, Cinderella blinked. “Me?”

“But of course,” Baron added. “If you don't mind my saying, you do have the perspective of living in and through this tale for a very long time, on top of being a principal character. If a scene so much as starts the wrong way or a beam of sunlight shines through a window far less brighter than usual, then you’ll probably be the first to notice it.”

For the shortest of seconds, the look on Cinderella’s face was inscrutable to Haru. Not quite blank, yet not quite joyful, yet not quite enraged, there was something about the princess that, to Haru, just seemed...off. Almost a quickly as it began, the moment passed, and the warm smile returned to Cinderella’s face as she sighed. “Yes, I’ve been doing this for quite a while now. I’d know every part of the story like the back of my hand, especially when it comes to the artefact.”

Even Cinderella’s royal training couldn’t stand against her sorrow, a frown threatening at the edges of her mouth at the mention of the artefact. “My fairy godmother’s wand.” She began to stroll around the room in thought, keeping up her nervous pace. “It’s made of the first branch that brushed my father’s shoulder on his way home from his travels. I know that I shouldn’t be so attached to such a thing, but I can’t help but be upset over losing it.”

“It doesn’t help that even for an artefact, it holds incredible magic power,” Baron noted. “If the wand got into the wrong hands, it could wreak a lot of havoc.” As he spoke, Haru watched his face for a twitch of the mouth, a squint in the eye, something that could give away what he thought about the client’s story. If anything about Cinderella was tipping off his suspicions, he certainly wasn’t showing any signs of it.

She nodded. “Aside from their canon abilities, artefacts also help hold the story together, so to speak. The plot will fall apart - sometimes literally - if one goes missing, or even gets moved to a different part of the story.” She gave the Bureau a polite smile. “Which is why this one is such a rush job.”

Toto flew over to her side and perched on the chair next to her. “Do you know of anyone who could have taken it?”

She gave a gentle laugh. “I can’t imagine who _wouldn’t_ want it. It’s a powerful magical artefact, after all.”

“That’s one big hint right there,” Toto said confidently. “It’s so important to the story that it can’t really disappear without making itself obvious.”

At this, Muta scoffed. “Figures. Another wannabe magic user playing with something bigger than themselves.” He stretched catlike and grinned evilly. “You know if we wait long enough, whoever took it’ll blow themselves up with that thing. Then it’ll be a _lot_ easier to find.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Haru watched as Cinderella blanched at the thought. “I think,” she added, “That’s the outcome we’re trying to avoid. We do have a plan, though.” She motioned to Baron, who handed her the black bound book.

Cinderella blinked in surprise. “That’s -“

“A copy of your book, yes,” Haru said. “When we enter a narrative, we usually carry around a backup copy. It lets us control the story in a way, in the sense that we can see the text without having to leave and return frequently, have a scene physically play out in front of us, investigate a suspicious scene thoroughly, skip through parts as needed, and make a quick exit if we need one.” Opening the book, she flipped through the pages. “What we’ll do is go into the story and check for any signs that something has changed - I’ll look for errors in the copy which might have been made by the thief or the artefact, while Muta and Toto will physically explore the scenes with Baron supervising all of us. We’ll also refer to you after each scene for any changes in the story.”

Muta got up from his sitting position and stretched. “Well, I’ve had enough chatter for one night. Better go find that magic user before they go blow themselves up.”

Baron stood up as well. “You gave us plenty of information to work with,” he told Cinderella. “And with our expert team, we can have the wand back to you in no time, with both your story and our town set as it should be.”

“Yes,” she said. “As it should be.” She turned to Haru and smiled politely. “Are we ready, Miss Haru?”

As Cinderella said it, the tense feeling from earlier ran through Haru again. They really _were_ doing this. “Yeah, we’re ready....” She flipped to the beginning of the book and stared down at the page’s text. No going back now. Haru took one last calming breath and began to read. “‘Once upon a time…’”

 

* * *

As soon as it began, it was over.

Haru looked up from her page and found that the room in the bookstore had transformed into a fine, if not gaudily decorated room. Dressed in deep greys, purples, and blues, the room gave off an oppressive aura, despite its fine nature.

“It worked,” she breathed.

“Of course it would,” a voice behind her said. She spun around and looked below to find Muta sitting beside her, surveying the scene. “Nothing’s changed since the last time we did this.”

She let out a sound like a raspberry. “Well yeah, but anything _could_ change.”

“You need to quit worrying, kid.” He stood up and began strolling around, scrutinizing the room for signs of the artefact. “This isn’t our first time doing something like this, and we’ve faced down _way_ worse than a thief without common sense. There’s nothing in here that’s bigger than we can handle.”

“He’s right,” said a second voice from in front of her. She looked in its direction to find Toto perched on an ornate table. “We have backup, we have experience, we have the target’s trail. We’re even picking up traces of the artefact right now.”

Haru froze. “It’s in here?!”

“No, not here. But definitely in the book.” He looked at her joshingly. “You didn’t think that she would make it that easy for us, did you?”

Haru sighed. “I was hoping so…”

From behind her, Muta snorted. “That’s the thing, though,” he added. “If anything’s gonna get the artefact found, it’s not playing ‘Hotter Or Colder’’.” He made his way to a chaise lounge and jumped on top. “You keep using your ESP.” Wedging himself directly between two couch pillows, Muta started wiggling downwards. “Meanwhile, I’ll keep looking for the artefact.”

Toto and Haru watched as Muta disappeared under the cushions. After her first encounter with the cat and the crow, it surprised her to learn that the two often tolerated each other, at least. While their fights were rare, the majority of their squabbles could be boiled down into the two of them misinterpreting each other’s words and tone - for Toto, Muta’s casual way of speaking could come off a brusque and obtuse, while to Muta, Toto’s formality was taken to be exclusive. For tonight, they had maintained their quibbled, but Haru wasn’t sure that they could risk another famous squabble between the two. “Ignore him,” she said consolingly. “He’s just jealous.”

Toto smiled. “I can imagine.” He spread his wings and began beating them in preparation for taking flight. “While he’s doing that, I’ll cover the aerial routes.” Haru watched as Toto took off and began circling around the room. As he did so, he almost imperceptibly muttered, “And it’s not ESP.”

_“Cinderella!”_

The sound of leather boots stomping down the hall jarred Haru out of her thoughts. They were shortly followed by the presence of an imposing looking older woman stepping through the doorway at the far end of the room. Though she dressed well, a cruel aura cut through her features. She took a step through the doorway -

-and froze there.

Haru could have accepted it as the story’s quirk had two, three, four seconds not passed without the Stepmother standing still as a stone. As the time passed without so much as a twitch from her, a tight, winding sensation wove throughout Haru’s core. “Why did she do that?” she asked out loud. “She’s not supposed to do that, is she?”

Muta poked his head up from behind a bookcase. “She’ll do that when you stop reading. Keep going.”

“O-Oh, right.” Embarrassing how easy the answer could be sometimes. She opened the book and flipped to the proper page to find a cartoonish picture of Cinderella and the Stepmother, with Cinderella on her knees scrubbing at the floor while the Stepmother glowered over her. Above it was some text reading:

_The Stepmother stormed down the hall and into the living room.“Cinderella!” the Stepmother shouted. “What is this I hear of you heading to tonight’s ball?”_

_Cinderella stepped out of the shadows and into the light. “Stepmother,” Cinderella said sweetly. “My sisters told me that I could attend the ball once I finished sweeping the floors, dusting the furniture, making the dinners-“_

_The Stepmother turned red with rage! “You’ve heard wrong, Cinderella! You will clean all this up while we go to the ball!”_

The entire scene stayed in the room, and the characters didn’t even have to really change positions all that much. Haru figured that that was the beauty of children’s books - they were easy to follow. If anything else, at least this part was easy. Haru took a deep breath and began to read, initiating the Stepmother’s walk again.

“Cinderella!” The Stepmother shouted. “What is this I hear of you heading to tonight’s ball?”

Haru hadn’t even noticed Cinderella in the corner, she blended in so well with the scene. With her feather duster and rag in hand, she strolled over to where the malicious matron was waiting. “Stepmother,” she said kindly and with dignity. “My sisters told me that I could attend the ball once I finished sweeping the floors, dusting the furniture, making the dinners-“

“Do you see anything of interest, Haru?” Startled, she whirled around and found...

“Baron! When did you get here?” The Creation stood right below her, barely reaching her knee as he surveyed the scene.

“I’ve been here for quite a while,” he said. “I just wanted to see the scene play out before searching for the artefact.” He turned his attention to her. “And now that it has, have you noticed anything out of the ordinary?”

“Um…” She directed her gaze between Cinderella and the Stepmother and squinted. Nothing too obvious stood out in particular, except...“It’s funny,” she told him after a few moments’ pause. “But I can’t seem to get a good look at Cinderella’s face.”

He nodded. “I think that’s very important.”

The Stepmother brought her foot down with violence, drawing a flinch from the girl. “You’ve heard wrong, Cinderella!” She stepped forward again, forcing Cinderella to step back. Jabbing her finger into the girl’s chest with every syllable as she spoke, she leaned in, spittle flying from her lips. “You will clean all this up while we go to the ball!”

Haru was well familiar with Cinderella’s tale, as an Editor and as an avid reader, and thus understood the role that the Evil Stepfamily played in it. By dragging Cinderella down, it made her rise from the ashes more dramatic. This wasn’t even one of the more vicious versions of this scene that Haru had read before, but seeing it happen before her made it seem so _hurtful,_ so made to break the human spirit _._

Her body began running forward before her mind could catch up. The scene had gone on far too long for her liking.

She needn’t have worried. The room gave a violent shudder, leaving her wavering for balance. Before she could right herself, a whining sound began in the distance, growing louder with each passing second. _It almost sounds like it’s underneath the floorboards,_ she thought. Another tremendous convulsion rocked the room, the whine gave way to a large, loud groan, and a giant crack formed in the middle of the room, right between Cinderella and the Stepmother. The princess searched wildly around the room, her eyes finally landing on Haru. A pale sweat had broken out on the girl, and her mouth was wide agape, as if she were to ask Haru a question. noise With one last tremor, the crack in the middle of the room gave way, with something he room bucked with something big and grey leaping out from the floor, sending Haru spinning to the ground.

She braced for impact, but it never came. Instead, she felt something grab her waist from behind and push her forward, gently righting her. The move was executed so smoothly that Haru didn’t even need to guess who rescued her.

“I really _do_ need to get myself a cane,” she joked.

Baron nodded as he tucked his own back into his coat. “They tend to prove themselves useful in tight situations.”

“Miss Haru!”

Clear as a bell, Cinderella’s voice rang over the wreckage. Looking in the direction of the voice, Haru spotted Cinderella attempting to right herself, knocked further back from where she was located before the attack. “Miss Haru, were you hurt?”

“No, no, don’t get up,” Haru called out in a shaking voice. Working her way up, she looked at Baron. “Like now, I guess. Let me go check and see if she’s okay.”

“Please do,” Baron replied, his concentration turning to the vine in front of him. “I believe that this warrants my attention in particular as well.”

As Haru approached Cinderella, the princess’s look was set into one of concern. While unscathed, the force of the attack had scattered some dust and debris across her clothes and body. “Miss Haru!” she called out with a note of worry in her voice. “Are you all right?”

Seeing the princess’s sorry state made Haru aware of her own. Looking down on herself, she could see the same fine layer of dust that covered Cinderella on herself. Stray hairs caught her sight, indicating that her short cut had been mussed in the attack. A laugh bubbled up in her throat and escaped, overtaking her in the moment. “I should be asking _you_ that - you’re the one who got caught up in it!” Haru stuck out her hand for Cinderella to grab a hold of. “Can you stand?”

“I think I can.” Cinderella grasped it and used it to pull herself up. Once set right, she slowly purviewed the damage, her eyes widening as realization set in. “What was _that_ , exactly?”

“We’re not really sure,” Haru replied, casting a glance to the vine behind her. Toto had flown down from his lookout point and slowly started circling it, alighting at certain spots to survey something of interest, while Baron had begun stepping around the trunk of the object, pausing to feel certain spots or turn to Muta and Toto for insights. “It looks like they’re working on figuring it out, though. Have you seen something like that before?”

Cinderella shook her head quickly, her body set rigid. “No, not at all. The story isn’t written like this.” Her gaze grew distant. “It was _never_ supposed to be like this.”

Haru nodded. “I’ve noticed that.” Opening the book, she flipped to the page that the scene was on. The picture on it hadn’t changed, showing the same image of the Stepmother leering over Cinderella. “You mention that, and I believe it - this part isn’t in the story at all.” Closing the book, she met Cinderella’s eyes. “It’s not even part of any retelling that I know of, which makes me think that maybe the changes were made internally. You’re not sure that anyone else in the story would have done this?” She nodded in the direction of the Stepmother. “What about her?”

Cinderella blinked. “Pardon?”

“That display back there was…” She glanced up at the frozen Stepmother, leering down on the two of them, and suppressed a sneer. _“...Impressive._ I know that that’s her role, but we couldn’t rule her out just yet.” Narrative or not, the poor girl didn’t deserve to get yelled at within an inch of her life. If there was anyone in the story who could pull off something like this, Haru figured that it would be her. Besides, Haru figured that she could at least sympathize with the poor girl.

Cinderella glanced in the direction that Haru was staring at. At the sight of the Stepmother, her face fell slack. “Oh, that. It’s just a part of the narrative.” She gave Haru a casual smile. “At a certain point, you don’t really even notice it anymore.”

Out of all of the responses, Haru wasn’t expecting that. In other circumstances, Cinderella’s bravery in the face of darkness might have been seen as enlightening, even powerful. Yet to Haru, her optimistic approach was void of...something, in the same way that a doll’s smile was void of something. What that something was, Haru couldn’t put her finger on it.

She figured that wouldn’t hurt to give it another shot. “Are you su-”

“-wouldn’t have a whole lot of time left.”

The two turned towards the interruption, catching sight of Toto conversing with Baron, both of them surveying the object in the middle of the room.

Baron turned from the vine towards Toto. “So it _does_ look like what we’re afraid of?”

Turning his gaze away from the object, Toto gave a single shake of his feathers. “I’d say so. Even if it’s not...well, it doesn’t look good.”

Almost compulsively, Cinderella’s stepped forward. “Pardon?”

Her intrusion caught Baron’s eye, himself having turned to her and stepped forward. “Hello Miss Cinderella. We just finished an investigation on think that we may have learned something important about the interruption in your story.” He motioned to the object in the middle of the room and turned to Haru. “Miss Haru, would this object seem familiar, perhaps?”

She focused in on it, squinting hard. Upon first seeing it, the mass was completely unfamiliar to her, but now that Baron had mentioned it to her, the thick grey mass _was_ knotted and whorled in a familiar way, not unlike…

“The vines from town!” She gasped.

Toto nodded. “That’s because we believe that they are. It grows as fast as them, it’s pervasive as the ones from town, and as indestructible as them, too.” With this, he reached out and plucked one bright green leaf off of the vine’s trunk. “Like the ones from back home, it heals if we cut it. If we pull a leaf off…” In the spot where the old leaf stood, a new leaf sprung up, looking like an exact copy of the former.

Cinderella grew wan, her mouth hanging open as she searched for the right words. “I think I need to sit,” she quavered.

Guiding the girl to the ground, Haru gestured to the vine. “But if this is here, then the artefact has to be nearby. That’s something in our favor, right?”

“Indeed it is,” Baron replied. “But while that’s a point in our favor, it also bears a more ill portent.”

Cinderella’s voice cut through Baron’s sentence. “It means that the story is falling apart.”


	3. Chapter 3

“It means that the story is falling apart.”

Haru stared at the princess, unable to form words. The concept wasn’t unfamiliar to her - she had heard of stories warped beyond their original meanings, blended into larger, more popular stories, lost to time and memory. She had heard of Creations who had strayed from their work and come back years, or even months later, finding that they didn’t have a home anymore. She had known of the gap that a lost story left, like a missing stair. Yet staring the prospect in the face, it was completely foreign to her.

Cinderella continued as if Haru hadn’t spoken. “More definitively, it means that the narrative’s structure is becoming more fragile. Elements from years gone past or, well…” She motioned to the vine. “More recent events begin to merge with the current story. Plots begin losing their threads, or new ones come into fruition. Soon, the story doesn’t even _look_ like it’s original form anymore.” She gave a bitter laugh. “I used to work with an older Bureau. They had always mentioned this happening, but I never thought that I would see it for myself.”

“It gets better for us, too.” Circling around the vine, Muta ambled up to the princess and Haru. “Remember what I said about the wand blowing up the thief? I wasn’t joking. Now we have to worry about it blowing up and taking us with it.”

Muta shrugged at Cinderella’s stunned look. “Hey, it’s true. The artefact’s failsafe is kicking in. It’s going wild with magic while it’s convincing the thief that they have control over it. Over time that control grows stronger, and…” He shrugged. “It’s not the cleanest method, but it works.”

Cinderella gave a hollow laugh. “The members of the previous Bureau discussed this a lot. I never thought I’d see this happen myself, but…”

“What’s important is that we’re a little shorter on time than we had imagined,” Baron explained. “And that we need to find the wand as fast as possible.” He craned his neck at the Stepmother, still frozen in her position. “Would she be of any use to the investigation, Miss Cinderella?”

“I’m not really sure,” she said after a moment’s pause. “I was telling Miss Haru earlier - she’s not even a Creation, so she’s not even alive. I think that there should be a few more throughout the story.” She gave the group a sheepish smile. “But I couldn’t tell you all of them from the top of my head. It’s a big story!”

“That’s fine,” Baron said. “We couldn’t ask that of you. It _would_ help us if we had a defining detail to work with though, in order to weed through potential candidates.” He turned to Haru, Muta, and Toto. “Any ideas?”

To Haru, the silence went on embarrassingly long as the four of them racked their brains. She was almost grateful for Cinderella’s soft voice breaking through the quiet.

“If I may suggest something?”

The four of them turned to her. “I don’t necessarily feel that the vine is an isolated incident.” With all four pairs of eyes on her, she continued. “True, this attack is a symptom of the story breaking down, but I noticed that it broke between two individuals: the Stepmother and I. Whoever did this, whoever felt that the artefact’s power was worth this, used this moment to send a message.”

All that Haru could do was stand and watch Cinderella break her theory down. Of _course_ a princess would need to be a great orator, able to wield logic and argue hypotheses to succeed in her role - at the end of the day, part of her character involved being the person needed to rule a kingdom. The thought sent a lingering feeling throughout Haru - she really _should_ have seen that coming.

“And that’s why we need our next move to be more offensive. Eliminating the problem saves the story.” She turned to Haru. “As an Editor, you’d agree, right Miss Haru?”

“Oh! I, uh…” Haru hadn’t expected Cinderella to seek out her input, much less in attacking someone. Ignoring the sensation of her face growing hot, Haru let out a nervous laugh. “Well, we’re not all that interested in assaults,” she stammered nervously.

Cinderella’s only response was a blank look. “But The Cat Bureau is interested in catching the thief, especially before they can work more destruction, correct?”

“Yeah, but we wouldn’t need to attack anyone to do that, especially when we don’t know who they are. So why not work on narrowing down our candidates instead of attacking for something we can’t even properly prepare for?” In a movement that was growing familiar to her, Haru pulled. the book from her bag and turned to the proper page. “Take the ballroom scene, for example. It’s essentially a wide open area that’s filled with some of the major characters and made to be traversed with little work, right? If we can get in there, we can survey the area and add or rule out candidates nearly effortlessly.”

To Haru, the silence that she was met with was deafening, and almost instantly, she fretted that she had made the wrong choice. It wasn’t ‘til Muta’s laughter broke through her panicked train of thought that she let go of the breath she didn’t know she was holding. “Makes sense to me. It’s big, it’s easy to find who saw what, and the thief is less likely to put up a fight if there are people around.” He got up. “We’re pretty much killing two birds with one stone.”

From his position, Toto coughed irritably at the remark. “Aside from the comment, I’m all for the idea. It sounds like our fastest route to finding the thief. Besides” - he smiled at Cinderella - “who would know the story better than the person who lives in it? **”**

Baron paused for thought. “It's a well thought out plan, Miss Haru, one that considers our needs most economically. Considering our shortened timetable, I think that’s just what we need. I don’t see why we wouldn’t visit the ballroom next.”

Haru clapped her hands together in confirmation. “It’s unanimous then. We can cover more ground in the ballroom scene, which will make it easier in confirming or ruling it out as a potential location for the thief or the wand. If we don’t find anything, we can regroup and plan our next move.” If her proposition could move the plan’s motions forward earlier than expected, that could be a benefit to the Bureau in enabling them to get the jump on her. _Then again,_ Haru thought to herself. _She may be hoping that we think like that. If we did this, we would_ _have_ _to be prepared to catch her while her guard’s down._

She cast a glance around the room, finding Baron, Muta, and Toto’s eyes on her. _Don’t worry guys,_ she thought _. I won’t let you down._ Looking down at the book again, Haru took a deep breath and began to read. “As Cinderella stepped into the glittering ballroom…”

* * *

 

The first thing that Haru noticed was the light on the page.

“Huh.” The scene with the Stepmother was lit far too dimly to generate a light source like that. “That’s new.” Softly at first, and then louder, a delicate tinkling noise began to resonate. “That’s _definitely_ new.”

She looked up. The fine room had been replaced by a glittering ballroom, full of light. By the balcony where she stood, a golden staircase led revelers to the ballroom floor. Throngs of people congregated along it, connecting, conversating, laughing. Lining the sides of the room were tables full of fine delicacies. The scene before her was so detailed, Haru could pick out individual people in it. She could see the Stepsisters and their Stepmother, and it was obvious who the Prince was… It was so easy to get lost in it all.

“Enjoying yourself?” Baron asked. Haru figured that he must have made his way over from the last scene just moments ago. She didn’t turn to ask him - she could barely tear her eyes away from the party before her, choosing to nod in response. He made his way to her side, content to let the silence fall between the two of them as they watched the soirée together.

“Any thoughts?” Baron broke the stillness between the two with his question, his cool green eyes concentrated on Haru.

“I think that I owe you thanks for backing me up in the last scene.” Haru slowly circled the edges of the ballroom with her eyes, pretending to memorize every detail that she could absorb so that she wouldn’t have to meet Baron’s gaze. “I know that it was kind of last minute, and it goes against what we had originally planned to do, but you all went along with it really casually.”

Baron smiled. “Think nothing of it. The vines changed our schedule more than anything else, and you made the best decision regarding our time. When you employ quick thinking like that, why _wouldn’t_ we trust you, Miss Haru?”

Despite the looming threat and shortened timetable of their situation, Haru could feel a smile threaten at the corners of her mouth. _How lucky am I,_ she thought to herself. _To have the Bureau put this much stock in me._ Quietly, she searched the area, seeking out entrances, exits, areas to hide behind. “It really _is_ huge.” She looked up at the ceiling, which was painted with pictures of the day and night sky, with angels flying throughout. Large gold finials topped each column, which she motioned for Baron to look at. “This is perfect for Toto to get around,” she said. “He could almost just keep two or three positions throughout the entire scene.” The ballroom itself was sided with marble columns every few feet. She drew her finger down to the bottom of them. “It’s almost an open floor plan,” she explained. “I think that that’ll make it easier for Muta to cover the border than in the last scene, too. The crowd might give him trouble, though.”

Baron smiled. “Nothing that Muta can’t handle.”

 _“Without_ bodily harm,” Haru clarified.

“No need to get into specifics,” Baron joked. “Regardless, it was an excellent survey of the area. You seem to have quickly come into your own regarding this mission, Miss Haru.”

The shaky laugh that she gave in reply betrayed her. “To be honest, I still am. We’re near the end of the book, and we _still_ don’t know where the artefact is. We’re not entirely out of the woods yet, so to speak.” She stretched in an attempt to work the stiffness from her shoulders. “But think of the position that client put us in. We don’t know the lay of the land as well as they do, and we ended up with much less time than we expected, but with what we know, I think that we came more prepared than they did, even if they have a powerful magical artefact. I mean, look at how they _use_ it! At the end of the story, we’re a little more closer to solving this once and for all.” She looked at Baron excitedly. “And considering who the target is, I’d say that finding the artefact all comes down to reading between the lines, if you’ll pardon the pun.”

“I won’t.”

The sound of marble claws on the floor alerted the two of them to Muta’s presence, Toto riding in on his shoulder. He sauntered up to the balcony and positioned himself between Haru and Baron, peering at the ball below through the balusters.“I thought we could go an entire mission without making a bad book pun.”

Despite his manners, Baron couldn’t help but smile. “I’d say it’s almost impossible,” Baron replied. “When you think about it, you could almost consider it a right of passage.”

Muta groaned at the indignity and draped himself between the balusters, the traditional scowl on his face deepening. “For the sake of making sure this whole thing goes right, I’m going to ignore that.”

Toto alighted next to Haru on the balcony railing. “Certainly you can't name this as your biggest concern currently,” he chided. Despite himself, a devilish grin broke through his face. “You know, you could turn the page, start a new chapter on life.”

Defeated by their jocularity, Muta let out one last irritated sigh. “Anyone else want to get one more in? Might as well.” He slumped. “This is why I don’t like working with fairy tales - everyone’s in a good mood.”

Unable to resist a moment to tease at Muta, Toto hopped forward along the railing, smiling brightly all the while. “Oh,” he crowed. “You’re just saying that because you didn’t get along with the last princess.”

“She wouldn’t stop petting me!”

“She was _four!”_

Slowly, the dancers began to stop and whisper among themselves. As they fell silent, they  darted expectant glances at the golden staircase in the front, as if waiting for something to appear. As if on cue, Cinderella materialized from behind the grand door frame, like a vision or a dream. The dress that she wore was far finer than the one in the previous scene, extending far around her as was the trend. The delicate gold gilding reflected the room’s light from around her, making it seem as if a glow was emanating from within her.

Baron coughed politely. “Miss Haru, I believe that that would be your cue.”

Haru hadn’t realized that she was staring ‘til she was caught. “Right!” Tearing her eyes away from the scene, she began digging through her bag for the book. “Toto, can I ask you to do your rounds again?” Wordlessly, he nodded and began taking off, directing himself towards the large chandelier hanging above the room. “Muta, go with Baron in case you find the artefact - depending if the thief did anything to it, a Creation may be the only one who can touch it.”

Muta let out a low grumble and leaned back dramatically. “Babysitting _again?”_ he groused.

Ignoring him, Baron turned to Haru. “As for you, Miss Haru?” he asked.

Pulling the book out of the satchel, Haru cracked it open and flipped to the proper page. “I’m going to execute the final part of the plan.” Keeping her grip steady on the book, she stepped forward, down the staircase, into the crowd. Before her, the images depicted the same ballroom that she stood in, with the same dancers surrounding her, the same lights glowing above. _I guess that’s a good sign,_ she told herself _. I’m right where I need to be._ Taking one last breath to calm her nerves, she settled her eyes on the text, preparing to read aloud. “Cinderella’s eyes met with…”

As Haru read, the scene unfolded, with Cinderella meeting the prince at the middle of the dance floor, taking his hand with grace, and spinning across the floor with ease. Despite the bustling crowd, it was far easier to navigate through the crowd than she had originally thought. They barely perceived her as they watched the mysterious stranger dance with the prince, making it all the more easier for Haru to explore the scene for clues. As the couple two-stepped their way across the dance floor, Haru walked forward, scouring the lines for any commas, spelling errors, _anything_ that could hint as to the artefact’s location. Even in her concentrated state, snippets of the partygoers’ conversations floated by.

“Such a perfect couple…”

“...must be from a faraway kingdom…”

“...surely has the prince’s hand in marriage…”

The far side of the ballroom got closer and closer as Haru finished her walk. The orchestra’s song reached its cadence and concluded, the audience clapped and cheered for the two dancers, and Haru reached the final period on the page.

And yet...nothing.

“I don’t get it,” she muttered to herself. “I looked _everywhere.”_ Her eyes darted between the page and the scene before her, as if she could will the artefact away from its hiding spot. From the corner of her mind, a thought tugged at her. _Start at the beginning of the page. You’ll find it in no time that way._

“I already did that,” she muttered in irritation, pushing the thought away. In its absence, more of them bubbled up _\- Read the book backwards! Scan the text for keywords! Pick a random page and read it! -_ taking away from the silence that Haru so desperately needed. The gentle lights felt brighter and hotter on her skin, and the gentle patter from the surrounding partygoers began to blend into a roar. She had read something in a magazine years ago, in regards to situations like this, advising her to concentrate on only one thing: an object in the room, a phrase, anything. _Can’t hurt to try,_ she thought to herself. Ignoring the din threatening her thoughts, she scanned through her earlier conversation with him. _Chandelier...marble columns...between the lines…_

The revelation hit her like a punch to the gut. She had never been more thankful for one of Baron’s bad puns in her life! A target who used magic to hide behind, who always attacked while unseen, who preferred a quick fight over a fair one, would probably prefer a hiding space for their ill-gotten gain that could be seen out in the open, yet hidden away.

_Wham!_

She barely caught herself from hitting the floor, watching helplessly as the book fell from her grasp. Wavering on one foot, Haru shot a dirty look at the ball goer who had knocked her off balance stepped past. “Hey! Watch where you’re-“

“Such a perfect couple…”

Grumbling, Haru choked back a sarcastic insult. It wasn’t their fault that none of them, save for Cinderella and the Bureau, were thinking, living human beings -

 _Wait._ The fall wasn’t the only thing that left Haru feeling like she had the air knocked out of her. Reaching for the book, she strained to listen to the attendees. Were they…?

“...must be from a faraway kingdom…”

“...surely has the prince’s hand in marriage…”

She got back up slowly, facing a couple that was leisurely chatting away. Uneasily, hesitantly, she pushed her hand past the little space that the two shared. No reaction. Turning to the crowd, Haru waved her arms around and started jumping. “Hey! Hey! Excuse meeee!” Not a head turned towards her calls. _Then again,_ Haru reckoned _, that’s their job. They push the story forward, but they run like animatronics, because they have to be perfect so that the narrative goes-_

The realization hit her at full force. It made complete sense the more she thought about it - the whole _world_ was made exactly for a scullery maid to make her way out of the basement and into the prince’s arms every time someone opened the book, and back into the basement as soon as the book’s cover closed. Like a bird cage, the subject could move around within the story uninhibited, but it was made to hold them, never to let them free. _Then again,_ Haru pondered. _It’s a tightly wound narrative. Any change in the story would make things-_

“A little less than perfect,” Haru muttered to herself. She laid a careful eye to the ballroom, keeping watch for even the smallest of flaws within the room. A cursory glance revealed nothing but a sea of perfectly coiffed people watching as a couple made for each other danced their way through the ballroom. And then she saw it.

In retrospect, Haru figured that anyone could have passed by that wall panel. It seemed like the other wall panels, and besides, there were far more interesting things in the room that someone would want to look at. Yet there was _something_ that Haru couldn’t name that kept bringing the panel into her line of sight. In what she hoped was a dignified squint, she zeroed in on it. The more that she concentrated, the more details came into view: here, a slight tilt to the panel’s position, there, a section where it would barely protrude from the wall.

She stepped past the crowd of dancers, her heart pounding in her chest as she made her way to the panel. Upon reaching it, its inlaid position seemed more obvious, as if someone had jammed it back hurriedly and with little thought. _Or like they wanted someone to see it,_ Haru thought to herself. Tentatively, she laid a hand on the panel - it was warm to the touch.

She hadn’t realized that she was holding her breath until she gasped in surprise. Barely able to contain her excitement, she reached for a protruding end of the panel and pulled. It gave way more easily than Haru had expected, sending her stumbling backwards as the panel broke off gently into her hands.

For a moment, she couldn’t breathe. The wand sat in the darkness, propped up by a hook in the wall. It’s dark wood gleamed brilliantly from the light of the ballroom behind Haru, revealing intricate carvings of plants and animals around its body. The warm feeling that it gave off through the panel intensified, emanating a temperature not unlike when one was a comfortable distance from a bonfire, or embracing a loved one who they haven’t seen in years. _It’s beautiful,_ Haru thought to herself. _No wonder everyone wants it._

At this, Haru tensed up. _That’s actually what we’re afraid of._ In a gesture that she hoped was subtle, she cast a glance over her shoulder. Nobody seemed to be watching her, and Cinderella was far across the room at the time. Assuaged for the moment, Haru returned her attention to the wand. Propping herself up on her toes, she leaned forward and extended her reach. Her hand brushed it, then wrapped around the hilt.

As she withdrew it from its spot, a wave of exhilaration hit her. Despite her worst fears, the plan had worked. _So far,_ she reminded herself _. The plan has worked so_ **_far_ ** _._ Her realistic expectations couldn’t help to quell the small burst of excitement that she felt. _It wouldn’t hurt to think a little optimistically. We made it this far, and that’s reason to celebrate._

Invigorated, she turned on her heel to make her way towards the staircase. _If Cinderella hasn’t noticed yet, maybe we could even return it to its proper spot before confronting he-_

The sensation of her foot impacting something small and hard, along with the feeling of her weight shifting to one side jarred Haru out of her thoughts _. I think that’s just tonight’s theme, she mused as she righted herself. Me, tripping over my own two feet._ As she dusted herself off, the sight of something green caught her eye. Slowly, Haru lowered herself to her knees for a better look. _That’s funny,_ she thought. _It almost looks like one of the vi-_

Something large shifted behind her. She barely turned her head in time to witness hundreds of vines bursting past her from the empty wall panel that the vine came from and into the ballroom, shattering through window panes and swarming past the partygoers. Anything in their path was consumed instantly - tables, decorations, the lights in the room. Before long, the entire room was thrown into darkness.

Haru searched the room frantically for any sign of her friends among the greenery. “Baron!” she shouted. “Toto! Muta!” The only response was the shifting and shuddering of the vines all around. She could feel her nerves reaching a fever pitch, her heartbeat pounding a steady rhythm in her ears. If she couldn’t see the members of The Cat Bureau, they had to have been subsumed by the vines, or worse-

Forcing the thought out of her head, she focused on what she knew. Four out of five people were unaccounted for, which left her and-

“Miss Haru!”

From across the room, Cinderella ran to Haru. As she came into view, Haru noticed that her hair was out of place and beginning to frizz, while some of the beads were coming loose from her dress. Her eyes were puffy and red, and her face had tear tracks running down it. “Miss Haru, thank _goodness_ you’re all right!” she gasped. “I was finishing up the scene near the staircase when I saw the Fairy Godmother. I didn’t think anything of it until she cast the spell that grew all of the vines!” She buried her head in her hands. “She cast the spell before I could tell Mr. Baron and the rest of The Cat Bureau! It must have corrupted her and driven her mad!” She shuddered and gasped, choking out a sob. “If you give me the book, I can find her and put a stop to-“

Haru watched her curiously. Despite the chaos and her overdone reaction, Cinderella had only minimum damage done to her, and an answer conveniently within her reach. All that Haru herself needed to do was give her the wand. It almost made too much sense. “Where’s the Bureau?”

Cinderella froze mid-explanation. “I-They must be under the vines, or hiding somewhere in the ballroom. We can find them once I have the book and retrieve the wand-“

Haru held out the wand. “You must mean _this_ wand,” she said with icy cool. “I didn’t see it with the Fairy Godmother, but I _did_ find it in the wall panel behind me.”

Cinderella continued without a hitch. “She must have thrown a glamour on me to throw us off her trail. But you were smart enough to find the true wand and it’s hiding place! When you lend me the book _and_ the wand, I can stop her and find everyone from the Bureau!”

“The Fairy Godmother, huh?” Cinderella nodded expectantly. “Corrupted by her own wand. That’s pretty interesting. Something else that I find pretty interesting is that before Baron, Toto, Muta, and I left to help you, we found that aside from you, there are no other living Creations in your story.” Haru squeezed her bag to her side, and her grip on the wand tightened. “I’m curious as to how someone who has no free will of their own stole their own wand and controlled these vines. On top of that, you seem really engaged in getting your hands on the wand and the book. I’ll ask again: where are Baron, Muta, and Toto?”

The eager look on Cinderella’s face slipped, and in its place, a calmer one, almost indiscernible from anger or sadness or boredom. A vine rose from the ground and wrenched the wand from Haru’s grasp, returning it to Cinderella’s hand, while another vine pushed Haru to the floor, leaving her staring up at the princess. Seeing the vines up close like this connected something in Haru’s mind. _Pumpkin,_ she thought to herself. _Call me crazy, but they look like pumpkin vines._

Cinderella stepped forward and held the wand inches from Haru’s head, the tears from earlier all dried away and replaced with an unflinching stare. “The book, please. If you give that to me, I can spare you and your friends."  



	4. Chapter 4

“The book, please. If you give that to me, I can spare you and your friends.”

She stared down the wand in the girl’s unsteady hand. Already the plan had begun to derail - Haru wasn’t sure how far the wand’s influence went over the princess, and she didn’t want to risk finding out without the Bureau’s cover. _I can try stalling until they get here, but I’m not sure how long I can hold out,_ she thought. She eyed the wand in the princess’ grip. _Then again, I’m not sure that I really have a choice in the matter._ “What are you talking about? The backup copy is our only way of getting back in-“

“Exactly why. I can’t have anyone in my way when I rewrite the entire story, or try and keep me here when I leave it.” She jabbed the wand harder in Haru’s direction. “Now I won’t ask again: may I please have the book?”

In one last desperate sounding attempt, Haru looked right at her. “Cinderella, listen, you don’t know what you’re doing,” she pleaded. “This isn’t going to work at al-“

She left no time for Haru to finish her sentence as she squeezed her eyes shut and cast her spell, sending out a wide blast of light at the girl. As it cleared, she tentatively opened her eyes. Where Haru once stood was a smoking crater and-.

“I figured that you weren’t going to listen,” said a voice behind her.

Cinderella whirled around to find Haru standing behind her, casually surveying the damage. She stared incredulously at her. “You...you avoided my spell.”

Haru gave a luxurious stretch. “I play a lot of lacrosse,” she said airily. “It helps build up speed. Speaking of, you know that you’re holding the wand wrong, right?” she asked. “You’re supposed to close your dominant eye when you fire. It’s a common mistake for an inexperienced magic user, aside from, I don’t know, vines randomly sprouting from the ground-“

Wordlessly, Cinderella pointed the wand at Haru and began to charge it. _Wham!_ Another bolt of light fired out from the wand. Haru breezily stepped aside and watched as it landed on the far end of the room. “-or sending a letter by using an artefact without erasing it’s magic signature-“ In a fit of pique, Cinderella stepped forward and swung the wand to the side, sending a wave of light towards Haru’s center. She ducked, letting it pass over her with ease. “Or even neglecting to consider that they’re the only living Creation in a story.” Getting up, her stare was steely. “And then lying about it to the people who they asked to help.” She stepped forward. “All of these are a sign that the user is in way over their heads. I’ve only seen two kinds of people who would steal an artefact: the truly stupid-“

With a cry of frustration, Cinderella slammed the wand down to the ground, sending waves of light through it. Without missing a beat, Haru skipped over them as if they were squares in a hopscotch game. “-Or the truly desperate. And the fact that you’re still trying to kill me suggests that you fall into one of those two categories.”

Wordlessly, Cinderella thrust the wand in Haru’s direction as she sunk to the ground, muttering the words for another spell. The glow from the wand illuminated a trickle of blood that began running down her temple, and a sizeable bruise that was forming on her cheek. In between words, she gasped, trying to catch her breath from the physical exertion of casting.

It surprised Haru how angry the princess’ action made her. If she was being honest with herself, she didn’t feel too particularly empathetic towards the girl at all. She had trusted her, believed that she was innocent, and worked to prove to that to the Bureau, all for the princess to be working behind her back the whole time. The Bureau knew from the start that the artefact’s presence made this mission too dangerous to be a simple job, too important to tread delicately, yet they still had been sparing with the girl. Their reward? A crumbling story and an obsessive Cinderella who wouldn’t give up. Most people would have given up by now, Haru thought, yet she seems so certain of this one desperate grasp for power. Haru couldn’t keep the incredulity out of her voice as she stared down Cinderella. “You really aren’t going to give it up, are you?”

“You’re not making me go back,” Cinderella gasped. “I’ll blow us both up before you do.”

“You most definitely will, with that terrible wand posture.” Falling silent, Haru measured her other options for the princess. _Baron went with my plan for a reason,_ she thought. He had said it himself - he had wanted to know the girl’s motivation without incriminating her first. _He also said that she wasn’t experienced with magic,_ she thought irritably. _And she tried to bring the house down on us._

She scrutinized the princess heaving form, the surface damage that she absorbed from the attack. It’s a lot to put yourself through, Haru thought idly. For a quick grab at power. She was right - most people would have given up by now. _If Cinderella was going to put herself through this, she thought, it had to be for one hell of a story._ Aggravated, Haru tilted her head towards the ceiling. _Least I can do is listen to it. She gave out a belabored sigh as she lowered herself to the ground._ “You did mention having worked with a Bureau before,” she said quietly. “And they were probably one of the more traditional ones, weren’t they?”

Cinderella followed her with the wand, never straying from her stance. Haru held up her hands innocuously, revealing her empty sleeves. “Honest truth, no tricks,” she explained. “This is just the two of us, talking to each other like grownups. You don’t even have to say anything, you just have to listen without trying to shoot me.”

Cinderella glared at the girl, her knuckles turning white from her grip on the wand.

 _I guess it’s smart of her not to trust me,_ Haru thought irritably. “How about this: hear me out, and if you don’t like my idea-“ With this, she pulled the book out from under her arm, holding it out for Cinderella to see. “You’ll have the book, you’ll have the wand, you’ll have the whole story to do whatever you want with, and The Cat Bureau and I will leave. Does that sound fair?”

The princess said nothing, still glaring down Haru. After what seemed like an eternity, she slowly lowered her wand arm, choosing to squeeze it to her body instead. That was fine - if she wasn’t talking, she was at least listening.

“I know that the older Bureaus-“

Cinderella pursed her lips and looked downwards. “They help preserve a story’s structure. That’s why the previous Bureau worked so diligently in protecting and maintaining them.”

Haru sat upright, surprised by Cinderella’s interjection and slightly grateful that she would do the talking. “Oh?”

“Partially because of its status, and partially because of its power, the wand has been targeted by thieves numerous times in the past, which is why the previous Bureau was so involved with my story.” Cinderella shook her head. “They always told me that the presence of the artefact left me in danger as well. To protect both the wand and I, everything had to be tightly maintained, from the script to the scenes to even where I went. But I didn’t mind it at first. Time and memory are fragile, fickle things that many a story has been lost to. It doesn’t take much to join their ranks.” The floor beneath the girls shuddered, sending a ceiling tile falling to the floor with a thud. Cinderella ignored it, or didn’t notice it - Haru couldn’t tell.

 _And that’s what makes her dangerous,_ Haru observed. Years of rigid structure and fear had rendered the princess into a person who both wanted the world and feared it, who both asked for help and didn’t trust a soul to help her, who in her grasp for control didn’t realize how helpless she made herself, and even if illusory, the wand made that a dangerous combination. _At the same time,_ she added with a note of irritation. _Cinderella made the decision to take the wand for herself and use its magic for herself. It’s not as if she’s entirely blameless._ The way Haru saw it was that they either brought the book down on her, or gave her a chance to redeem herself.

Haru shifted her legs from underneath her and sighed. “You know, there’s something to be said about playing with the form of the story.” She started. “Not just Creations, but readers have done it as well.” The comment drew an aghast look from Cinderella, shocked at the concept. “I know that the older Bureau frowned upon it,” Haru continued. “But even readers do it on occasion.” Distractedly, she drew her finger through the dusty floor, creating flowing patterns in her paths. “After all, we’re not driving the same cars or wearing the same clothes that we did fifty years ago. If humans have to change to survive, it makes sense that a story should too.”

Absentmindedly, Cinderella began to wring the wand between her hands. “I’ll admit, I always was envious of those stories brave enough to leave and explore the world around them, or try new ideas. They always came back safe, so why shouldn’t I as well?” The look in her eye grew distant and her voice dropped. “I know what the older Bureau decreed was for the best, but after a while, I couldn’t help but feel like a prisoner in my own story.” At this, the princess brightened up. “But not anymore! Now that I have the wand, I get to finally have control over what happens to me.”

Haru scoffed. “That’s what you call this, then.”

“You don’t understand-“

“Believe me, I do.” Haru gestured to the shattered room around her. “Is this what you call control? A destroyed ballroom, vines crawling all over, a story falling apart at the seams? This isn’t control! The wand found something to use within you, and used it well.”

“I-I…” Cinderella looked around frantically, searching for something to support her argument on. Her self composed manner from earlier was gone, replaced with a sort of mournful awe at the destruction surrounding the two girls, as if she was seeing it for the first time. “I didn’t mean-“

Haru snapped the bag’s latch open and began rifling through it. “The Cat Bureau can explain it better than I can. When I call them down, they’ll tell you and we’ll figure out where to go from here.”

Cinderella gave a laugh. “Serves me right, I guess. I tried to ask the wand for more freedom.” Surveying the room’s damage, she gave an empty laugh. “In a funny sort of way, it seems that I got my wish.” She looked at Haru. “I’m assuming that some sort of punishment will be in order.”

Confused, Haru snapped her head up at the princess. Amidst the destruction of the room, Cinderella seemed...smaller, somehow. The presence that the wand’s control had granted her had vanished, and large, dark hollows sat under her eyes, yet as she addressed Haru, she held her back straight and looked directly at her. Just as a queen would, Haru thought.

“I won't try and escape whatever justice that The Cat Bureau has planned for me,” Cinderella continued. “Just know that I never meant for this to happen.”

Haru scoffed. “Good thing the Bureau doesn’t deal in punishment.”

She took the princess’s stunned silence as a cue to continue. “You did have a hand in this, but you did it for a reason. If we threw you in a cell for a hundred years without trying to address it, there’s no guarantee that you wouldn’t try the same thing upon being released.” From her bag, she pulled out what looked like a stopwatch with a large, red button. “We’re more interested in solutions to problems, rather than locking up someone for a long time.”

Confused, Cinderella stared at Haru. “But I tried to kill you.”

Haru waved her hand dismissively. “Minor issue. Besides, between your vines are two incredibly powerful magic users and a virtual wall of cat muscle who were waiting on my signal had things gone really wrong. You wouldn’t have gotten far.” With that, Haru pressed the red button on her stopwatch.

She wasn’t worried when nothing happened at first. Any minute, they could expect Baron to come sailing down on Toto’s back, Muta skittering and swearing all the way behind them. Toto would congratulate Haru and praise her intelligence, Muta would gripe about her theatrics, and Baron would ask in that casual, curious way how their adventure had been. Haru would flush at the attention, then transport them all to the part of the story where Cinderella would return the wand, and then they’d go home and try to sleep off this night. Or at least, that would be the way that it was supposed to go. _Still,_ Haru reckoned. _It wouldn’t hurt for me to try pressing it again._

Still nothing. _Delays could be expected,_ she reasoned with herself. Baron could have been discussing some last minute change or precaution with Muta and Toto. It wasn’t out of the question that they could be disposing of some straggling vines that tried to tie them down _. Muta and Toto probably got into a snit again,_ she thought. _For whatever reason._ The image of the two locked in one of their famous arguments did little to lift her spirits as much as it usually did. On this occasion, Haru found those arguments far less charming when they left her stranded in a dilapidated room within a book that was beginning to tear itself apart. She pressed the button again, harder this time, and zeroed in on the chandelier above her.

“All right, guys,” she called out. “It isn’t funny anymore-” She hadn’t realized how hard she was pressing the button until it slipped from her hand and clattered to the ground. She didn’t even catch herself holding her breath until she gasped at its fall. Watching it settle, Haru realized with dawning horror that there wasn’t any argument or a last minute discussion that delayed them - it was something far bigger, and had probably gotten the best of them.

“Miss Haru?” Cinderella asked.

 _Right. The job._ Slowly, Haru lifted her head towards her and smiled what she hoped was a calm, poised smile at Cinderella. _I’m here for the job. I have to get Cinderella’s story back in working order, and then we can find the Bureau, and then the vines will go away, and this awful night will be over_. Deep in her heart, she couldn’t convince herself it was true, but she held onto the thought like it was the last match on a dark and cold night.

Haru fumbled with her bag and pulled out the book, straining to tear through the book to find the right page. “We’re going to read the scene with the Fairy Godmother and return the wand there, because it’s the only one where she really shows up. There’s only you and her in this scene, and it’s a short one, so it shouldn’t take us a lot of time.”

Cinderella considered her words, thinking carefully all the while? “And once we do return the wand, the story will fix itself?”

Haru swallowed hard. “It should.”  
With no hesitation, she opened the book and began to read. “Cinderella fled to the garden…”

* * *

 

Almost immediately, the already dark room was plunged into void. For the few moments that Haru couldn’t see anything, she froze, the sensation of fear constricting her. This is it, she thought. We’re dead. I’ve killed us on our first mission. A high-pitched whining noise began to play in the background, low at first, then beginning to pick up in pitch. A cool and humid sensation immediately hit her, a direct contrast to the destroyed ballroom’s dusty atmosphere. A warm yellow light threw her body into sharp relief, the ultimate proof that she wasn’t experiencing this from the afterlife. With a shuddering sigh, she lifted up her head and gave the world around her a full observation. The destroyed ballroom was gone, replaced with an expansive garden, lavishly done with exotic plants of all kinds. The master gardeners had taken care with the layout - she could make out the shape of wisteria artfully draping from pots, and the wind carried the heady scent of jasmine hedges. From high above, a large crescent moon hung in the night sky, illuminating the scene. Staring at it, Haru sighed contentedly. _You know, after all that,_ she remarked to herself. _This is a nice change of pace._ She tilted her head upwards, absorbing the sight of stars scattered randomly around the ink-black night sky and the bright orange moon. Something small, not unlike a shooting star, passed by it, cutting through the moon’s glow with a streak.

 _Wait._ Haru squinted. _I don’t think that comets fly across the moon._

The same something flickered across the moon again, then again, far darker in color than its predecessors. Soon many of them were crossing the moon at once, some of them even making their way around it. Even from her distance, Haru could make out the curling tendrils and forked leaves of the vines that were choking the life out of the story. Turning her eyes earthwise, they were everywhere - the wisteria had been all but smothered away, and even in the moon’s slowly dimming light, she could see the vines overtaking the diminutive jasmine flowers. Toto’s replication experiment from earlier stood out in her mind, how the leaf had grown back as soon as it was plucked from the vine - if they could heal just as fast, it made sense that they would grow just as fast, too. Watching the world die around her, cold realization hit her as one thought echoed throughout her brain: We don’t have a lot of time. “Cinderella!” she called out.

She found her near the end of a stone path, seated on a bench, staring up at the Fairy Godmother. Just as in the book’s picture, the princess was dressed in her scullery maid outfit and hunched over as if from crying, staring up at the Fairy Godmother. Unlike the photo in the book, she had the wand clutched in her hand, and tear tracks running down her face as the Fairy Godmother’s mutated, vine encased visage leaned towards the girl, shuddering violently as if she were a toy running out of battery. “Now-now-now, my dear-r-r-r,” She stuttered, smiling all the while. “Don’t b-b-b-be upse-upse-upse-“

Haru looked down at the text. “‘Now, my dear…’” She froze. Where lines of paragraphs sat, only blank spaces remained, as if someone had gone through the text with an eraser and took out all of the paragraphs. Frantically turning through the pages, she searched for a word, any word, to read from, coming across blank pages each time.

 _Fine then,_ she told herself. _We don’t need the story to read from. I’ll just recite it from memory._ “‘The Fairy Godmother went and-‘“. Went and did what, exactly, Haru couldn’t recall. “‘Cinderella told-‘“. She wasn’t entirely sure that that was how it began, either. Or what the next part was at all. _It’s a story that spans countless cultures and eras,_ Haru thought frantically, _and I can’t remember a single part._

Gripping the book, Haru ran to the princess’s side. Cinderella sat unresponsive, barely able to process the scene unfolding in front of her. “The lines,” she stammered. “They’re all gone. I’ve been telling this silly story for hundreds of years, and I’ve forgotten every single line.” She swallowed hard. “I’ve really done it now, haven’t I?”

Haru shrugged. “Well, nobody’s perfect.” She stared up at the Fairy Godmother’s empty visage, watching the vines subsume her. Her wand hand was almost right above her, already halfway covered with the thick foliage. _At this point, I’m not even sure that returning the wand to the Fairy Godmother’s hand really would have mattered,_ she mused sadly, _Even if we could recall a single line from the story._

Something gently brushed against her ankle. She glanced down, finding some of the vines that were crawling along the ground slowly making their way up her leg. She looked back at Cinderella to find them sneaking upwards her as well. _If someone told me five years ago that my end would come by being eaten by a plant,_ Haru thought to herself. _I’m not sure that I would have believed them. I would have given myself a different endi-_

 _Wait._ She looked over at the Fairy Godmother again, then back at Cinderella. _Maybe…_ “You know,” she said slowly. “If there aren’t any lines to follow, then we could try making up our own.”

Cinderella lifted her stricken face towards Haru. Already Haru could see vines crawling up her neck. “We can do that?”

Haru smiled sadly, pretending to ignore the plants encasing the girl. “Well, what would we have to lose?” She turned her attention to the Fairy Godmother. “‘Fear not, for…’”

“‘Fear not’,” Cinderella continued. “‘For I grant you the power to forge your own story.’” Silently, the world began to fade out of view, becoming one big mass of vines. As vines made their way across Haru’s vision, the last thing she saw was Cinderella, reaching to push the wand into the Fairy Godmother’s hand.

Then she didn’t see anything at all.


	5. Chapter 5

_For how much people talk about dying_ , Haru thought. _It’s not exactly what it’s made out to be._

So far, all that death had turned out to be was a white space and a roaring headache. Not that she would have tolerated one or the other - she would have asked someone for an aspirin, if there was anyone to ask. For now, the white landscape went on relentlessly for what looked like miles. It was bright enough to see, but without a shifting source of light, Haru couldn’t measure how long she had been there, making the moments quickly blend into each other.

Which left a lot of time for thinking.

When she was first constructing the plan with the Bureau, there was nothing to indicate that it would fall apart the way that it had. With the members of the Bureau, Haru had constructed backup plans for their backup plans, figured out responses for any questions that the princess may have come up with, and even developed a proper cover story for their mission. Looking back on it, all that Haru saw were flaws. If they just had moved a little faster here, if they took more time to research before, if she had been more decisive, less sparing towards the princess, then… She stared up at the white space, searching for God or the Devil or whoever ruled over this space, something to speak with her. _I’m sorry, guys_.

“It’s fine, Miss Haru.”

Haru snapped to attention, swinging her head side from side in an attempt to seek out the speaker. The voice had an eerie quality that made it seem to come from everywhere and nowhere, doing nothing to assuage the nervous feeling coursing through her bones. _Wait._ She paused. _If I’m dead_ , _then that voice could be..._ She had always diligently helped her mother assemble the shrines and attend to the rituals of their religion, partially out of duty, and partially because she believed that when she prayed, someone was listening. However, she didn’t think they would actually _answer_.

Not to mention, witness her indecisiveness take down her friends. She didn’t fear divine retribution, and would have gladly accepted whatever punishment would have come to her. She was just surprised that it would come this soon. Her heart pounded a steady drumbeat and her palms grew slick. “God?” She called out hesitantly. “Is that you?”

“Miss Haru, look to your left.”

As she glanced to her side, the rest of the world began to come into view. Where there wasn’t anything before, a table was. Chairs and shelves began to assemble themselves, with books and displays joining them. As the world came together, Haru was able to make out the bits and pieces that made up the bookstore that she and the Bureau had departed from. She was so mesmerized by watching the world form that she almost didn’t catch the form of what looked like a cat statue beginning to materialize on the table. No, not a cat statue…

“ _Baron!_ ” In any other situation, she may have shown more decorum, yet the sight of him - when Haru believed that there wasn’t any more of him to see - washed away her earlier exhaustion. Before she could fully realize or care about what she was doing, she had her arms wrapped around him, squeezing tighter than she had ever thought possible. “I thought you were gone forever!”

Baron smiled. “We’ve had plenty of Bureau cases that managed to develop along the way,” he said simply.

Another wave of emotion came over her, this time one of a heady mix of anger and relief, one that took some energy for her to swallow the knot in her throat. Pulling away, Haru wiped away the tears that threatened at the corner of her eyes. Baron had an engaging, _infuriating_ way of discussing the most dramatic things in the calmest of ways, as if he hadn’t almost faced down death. “You wouldn’t have had any _developments_ if I hadn’t insisted on my stupid plan.”

Baron’s quizzical took her by surprise. “But your plan was what kept us alive. It required for us to be separated so that you could talk to her and have us intervene if necessary, didn't it? We may not have planned for the vines to spirit us away, but we were able to treat that momentary distraction as part of the plan.”

From behind her, Haru could hear something large land. Out of the corner of her vision, she spotted black feathers ruffling. She couldn’t help but let the smile grow across her face, as Toto stretched his wings. “You’re alive!”

“All thanks to you!” he called out. “Your plan was so easy to follow, even when we were separated. If we were following any other, you probably wouldn’t have been able to save us back there.”

“I...saved…?” Haru ran her mind over the scene’s events, trying to recall any moment she might have made a daring rescue for everyone. Nothing in particular stood out to her except... “The part where we made up the lines!”

Baron nodded and smiled that calm, enigmatic smile of his. “When you disappeared, we figured that you would show up at the garden to return the artefact, so we headed there. It was a good thing that we were in the scene too, or we might still be trapped within the book. In the end, the mission may not have been exactly what we thought out, but we were able to adapt to it effortlessly.” He brushed a stray lock of her hair aside. “And that’s what made it an excellent plan.”

“Still think we should have let her blow herself up. Would have ended things a lot quicker.”

Haru couldn’t even be annoyed at the brusque comment - she was all too happy to see Muta padding up to her and resting at her feet. “At least it went better than most of Baron’s ideas- _!!!_ ’ He never got to finish his sentence - Haru’s enveloping hug quickly ensured him, Baron, and Toto. She couldn’t help it - for one frightful moment, Haru believed that she would live in a world without them, all through her error. Seeing them together in front of her felt like a wild, desperate wish come true.

“This is why I don’t like fairytales.” Muta’s muffled complaints were barely perceptible from the depths of Haru’s hug. Pushing himself away, he gasped theatrically and stumbled. “They make everyone all mushy and touchy feely.” Haru didn’t even need to look to envision the cutting glare that Toto was giving Muta, or the plaintive one that Muta was giving back to Toto. “I don’t mean _her_ ,” his voice echoed out from over her shoulder. “I just don’t get why people need to be crying or kissing under the waterfall like saps all of the time. ‘Sides, I liked them better when they had people cutting their toes off or murdering their family.”

Pulling away, Toto gave a defeated sigh. “For once, I would have to agree with you - I think that the narrative loses cultural context without its original details. And personally,” he muttered. “I’m a little done with fairy tales, too.”

Even before the princess had attacked them, there was something within the narrative that felt… _off_ , like stepping into a room where the furniture was shifted two inches in the opposite direction. Toto’s comment shifted a note of recognition within Haru, helping to place exactly what that feeling she had was. “Now that you mention it,” Haru spoke aloud. “This story _is_ missing out on some of the more darker aspects, and that’s even with the indentured servitude. It’s a lot more…” She paused, searching for the right words. Failing to come up with them, she turned to Baron. “How would you describe it?”

Baron didn’t even take a moment to think as he rattled off the response. “The Romantic-era mindset and writing style _does_ seem familiar,” he started. “It makes me feel that this is the translation by...by...” He paused, searching his mind for the writer. “I’m sorry, but I believe that I couldn't pull up the name _._ Toto, Muta, would you know?”

It wouldn’t surprise Haru to know that the members of The Cat Bureau would have a layman’s knowledge of famous writers of fairy tales. To a certain extent, it _was_ their job, and knowing where those stories came from made it easier to know how to help them. It _did_ surprise her to see that they were coming up blank regarding the name of a particularly famous one. “...de Villeneuve?” Muta asked, staring up at the ceiling in thought.

Toto shook his head. “No, no, that’s the French author that wrote that one version of ‘Beauty and the Beast’. This is the French author that wrote that one version of…” He stared at Haru. “What was it called again?”

Haru’s confusion gave way to realization, and wordlessly, she pulled the book from her sack again turning the pages, searching slowly. Just as in the garden, entire paragraphs were missing from the copy, and photos too, leaving sparse wording where the story had been, and only snippets of the original tale. A sad girl in a dusty outfit. A foot fitting into a slipper. Specks of light emanating from a magic wand.

 _Huh._ Haru stopped on a page that held fragments of a picture and some text. Haru could make out the form of someone sitting on a bench and a hand holding a wand. The text had been almost entirely wiped away, except for some remaining words:

_Ci    e           garden nd bur_

 

_cr e_

_the m tter, my child?_

_dmo magic wa_

 

 _This looks..._ kind of _familiar_. Quietly, Haru mouthed the words to herself, each iteration pulling up the vaguest details of a memory. Images of someone wielding a wand with a shaky hand, someone dancing around a ballroom, someone struggling to get the wand into a statue’s hand flashed throughout her mind. Frustratingly, as hard as she concentrated, their name, their face, their voice stood just out of the reaches of her memory.

 _And it’s just on the tip of my tongue, too,_ Haru groused internally. She looked back at the picture, scrutinizing it with precision. If she squinted hard enough, she could make out the form of someone sitting, but in an instant, she’d lose her concentration and the image would become a jumble of shapes again. _I know that whoever this is, they asked The Cat Bureau to do something. They...they took something, too. And broke a lot of things. But what…?_

The strain of trying to remember put that pounding headache from earlier back into her head. Her vision began to blur, placing what looked like a light fog over the room. Irritably, Haru rubbed her temples in exhaustion and groaned. “Guys, does a Creation based headache exist in any capacity? I could have _sworn_ I just saw something that isn’t in this-“

 _Wait._ Haru froze in place, surveying the scheme from the corner of her vision. _Something’s off._

Slowly, she lifted her head, paying attention to the room around her. It wasn’t a regular fog that was cast over the room - it just stood in place, barely holding onto a form. In fact, the more that Haru stared, the more it had the vaguest shape of-

Haru gave the form a smile. “Hello again. Ready to start working on your story?”

* * *

 

**_3 months later_ **

* * *

 

“And you’re positive that it doesn’t have any mice in it?”

Her eyes not leaving the page she was writing on, Haru shook her head. “None whatsoever.”

Cinderella sunk back into the cushion and gave a huge sighed. “Oh thank goodness. I’m _terrified_ of the little creatures-” She paused, realizing her words. “Not that there’s anything particularly _wrong_ with mice,” she stammered. “I’m positive that they have much to contribute to the community, and I’m sure that many people love them, it’s just that-“

Baron handed her a teacup on a saucer and some cookies. “It’s fine,” he said. “There’s no need to explain yourself if you’d prefer not to.”

Baron’s simple approach had done wonders on the girl’s nerves. Accepting the saucer graciously, she sank back into the couch and sighed. “ _Thank you.”_

Haru still couldn’t believe that the princess had found her way back after the story had disintegrated. From her own perspective, the destruction was total - nothing could have survived it. _Yet here she is_ , Haru thought to herself. _As real as any Creation in here, more or less._

Stirring her tea, Cinderella sat up suddenly. “Maybe I _did_ like mice beforehand.” She turned to Haru, alarmed. “Do you think that could be possible in _any_ way?”

Haru shook her head again. “If you’re not a big fan of them now, then you probably didn’t interact with them much in your last story.” _I think_.

Lazily, Muta slunk over in his chair. “Who’s to say? Maybe you were a big fan of rodents in your last story. You can’t recall anything saying otherwise, and neither can we.” While talking, he took a moment to pick a tea cookie off of his plate. “Even the old book you came from isn’t giving out many hints, so-”

Watching the princess blanch, Toto gave Muta a harsh glare as he cut him off. “If she could recall that, she would instead of consulting with us, you _dope_. Besides, why make her worry any more than she already is?”

“What? I’m just putting out the suggestion-“

Sensing an argument, Baron put his tea cup down. “It may have been, it may have not. From my perspective, what’s more important is the narrative that we’re telling now, not what once was in the former story. Besides,” he continued. “In Haru’s capable hands is the manuscript that we assembled over the past few months from the book’s fragments, along with our newer input. I’m positive that she could give us a version of the story that will satisfy everyone.”

It was true that upon finding The Cat Bureau, the princess couldn’t recall anything about the story she had come from, not even her own name. All that the five of them had to work off of was the book with its fragmented pictures and words. With the gaps in their collective memory, most other Bureaus would have considered rebuilding the story a total loss, but The Cat Bureau was not other Bureaus. With the princess, they spent the last couple months piecing together the parts of the story that they could glean from the leftover text and photos, and organizing into what they felt was chronological order. Haru’s job was to fill in the gaps of the story, and there were _plenty_ to work from.

 _I’m not entirely sure how it could have survived the first draft stage in its_ original _form,_ she thought as she added another proofreading mark. Where did the Fairy come from? How did the princess’ family not recognize her when she was with the prince? It just didn’t make any sense. _Then again,_ she thought. _That’s what I’m here for. I just need to make one last-_

Like a dart through a water balloon, Muta’s voice cut through her concentration. “Besides, I don’t mind mice. They tide me over til dinner just fine.”

Haru sighed and scribbled her pen in the corner, waking up the ink. “Gross.”

Toto chuckled into his teacup. “When Haru says something, you know it’s bad.”

Muta sunk into the couch. “I don’t get why everyone’s weird about eating some animals and not others. Don't humans eat stuff like snails and frogs legs?”  

“Those are _different_!”

“ _How_?! They’re all small animals!

The commotion was exactly what Haru needed. Listening to Toto and Muta’s arguments were nothing new to Haru, and after hearing the two of them duke it out over the first few months, they simply began to blend into background noise. _Better than a sound machine_ , she thought to herself. _Now where was_ _I?_

“And almost...there!” Haru dotted the final period on the page and instantly felt wave of relief wash over her. It had to be one of the most difficult works that she had put out, yet she couldn’t help but feel incredibly proud of it. It was much more than a story - it was the solution that she had engineered for the client, one born out of working in the field and making crucial decisions. It was something that to her, proved her worth not just as a writer, but as a member of The Cat Bureau. For that reason, she couldn’t help but beam as she lifted up the papers for all to see. “It’s _finally_ finished!”

From her right elbow, Haru felt a gentle push. Looking in its direction, she was met with the sight of Baron looking eagerly over her at the draft. She could feel Cinderella’s presence over her left shoulder eyeing it as well, and Toto had even made his way over, alighting on the couch for a quick peek. _I guess that to Creations, the making of another Creation is an exciting occasion_ , she thought. Looking down at Muta, where he was eagerly craning his neck in the most noncommittal way he could manage, she could barely suppress her confused smile. _I have no idea what his deal is, though._

Haru crisply tapped the edges of paper against her knee and stood up, scattering the cloud of interested onlookers. “All right, all that’s left is to read our way through and decide how we feel about the narrative.“ She turned on her heel to face her impromptu audience. “Sound good?”

When Toto landed on her shoulder, Haru thought it was for another peek at the manuscript. Instead, he motioned her to look in the princess’ direction. In lieu of following Haru, she had stayed glued to her spot, eyeing Haru, but fidgeting nervously. Upon recognizing that she had caught Haru’s eye, she flinched and gave a short laugh. “Sorry, I, um, became wrapped up in my thoughts. I was just thinking about something that came up.” As she spoke, she worked her hands through her hair, keeping her eyes off of Haru. “And how grateful I am for all your hard work and -“ Her tense speech petered off, leaving her silent for a few moments. “I guess I should just come out and say it, then. It’s not that I’m grateful for your hard work, it’s just that...what if it doesn’t work? What if I don’t... _fit_ in it?”

Haru took her traditional thinking pose, tilting her head to the ceiling as she searched for the right way to answer the princess. “You know, that’s a _very_ valid concern. When I’m writing, sometimes I come across certain...issues, like I won’t feel confident about the ending, or I’m not sure what to do with the middle, or I don’t like some of the characters-uh, no offense.

Cinderella lifted a hand up and shook her head. “None taken.”

“What I mean is when that happens, I always go back and edit the draft. The first version isn’t perfect, and neither is the second, and _rarely_ is the third. The point is, it’s _okay_ if you try the story on and don’t like it at first. We’ll just go back and edit it until it’s something that you do.” Haru paused. “Does that make sense?”

The princess paused, processing Haru’s words. For a moment, Haru’s chest was tight - there was the possibility that she could refuse The Cat Bureau’s options, that nothing they could come up with would truly suit her, that she’d want to return to her old, tattered story. But what then? Would she grow upset over time again, complete this cycle of chaos some 50, 100, 1000 years later?

“I...I really haven’t thought of it like that before,” she said hesitantly. “Trying on different drafts, finding one that fits best…” She gave Haru a small, tense smile. “I guess I have a lot to learn about this.”

Haru smiled back. “Same here. You do recall this is my first time working as the Bureau’s editor.” She lifted up the manuscript for the girl to see. “You ready?”

The princess’ nod was all that Haru needed. As Haru thumbed her way to the proper page, she couldn't help but smile. The joy she felt when entering the now-familiar reading space, analyzing a story for hints and clues, searching for ways to improve the lives of those who sought out The Cat Bureau’s help - was _indescribable_ . _No wonder Baron’s been doing this for years,_ she thought. _If I’m lucky, I’ll do it for years, too._

Before her, Baron’s living room changed, replaced with a comfortably sized drawing room. In one of the largest chairs, a man sat reading a book aloud to a large, dimpled infant sitting on his knee. Above them, a woman, looking not unlike the princess, draped herself across the chair’s back, reading over his shoulder. She recognized it instantly - it was the opening scene for the story.

 _Our_ _story,_ she thought proudly. _This is the solution that we all made_ _together_ _, one that helps everyone._ Even if it wasn’t the princess’ first choice, or her third, or even her tenth, it was far more of a solution than letting her wither away in her old, broken narrative, her malcontent simmering over the centuries until it boiled over. Baron’s words from earlier echoed in her mind: _If you approach a question with everyone’s end goal in mind, then success is never far._

 _You were right,_ she thought to herself. _Thank goodness you were right._ She took one deep breath, focusing her thoughts on the page before her.

“Once upon a time…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap, folks! I wrote this for Rowena_Bensel, who asked for a fairy tale au, among her other prompt suggestions. (You might know is totally my jam.) It was because of that that I ran with it and sort of turned it on it’s head, and I'm really grateful for the opportunity to do so. I’m also super grateful that both Ro and the folks who run the TCR Secret Santa were so flexible with me and my need for perfection - ya’ll are the best! \^_^/ (and if you’re looking to know more, head to the tumblr of tcrmommabear and follow the link in the summary. We’d love to have you!:)
> 
> Speaking of perfection! Concrit - I always take it. If there’s something that needed to be explained better, or if there’s something that you think I could work on, or something that you liked, let me know in the comments! I’m always looking to improve, so every bit helps!:) 
> 
> Until next time!  
> \- Headphones


End file.
